And when the queen of Sheba had seen. — There is something curiously inartificial and true to nature in the accumulation of different impressions as made upon the imagination of the queen. First of all comes the primary impression of Solomon’s wisdom, known by his answering all her questions, and “seen” in the various ordinances of his court and his government. Then the magnificence of the palace and all the arrangements of its service are referred to in detail, as especially likely to tell on one whose own splendour was probably of a simpler and more barbaric sort. Lastly, if our translation be correct, the record singles out the ascent or viaduct crossing the valley from the palace to Mount Moriah, and forming the royal entrance into the Temple (see 1 Chronicles 26:16;2 Kings 16:18), evidently a unique and remarkable structure. But it must be noticed that the LXX. and Vulgate and other versions render here, “the burnt offerings, which he offered in the house of the Lord,” and Josephus has the same interpretation. The magnificent scale of his sacrifices is illustrated in 1 Kings 8:63, and it is certainly natural that this point should not be left unmentioned in the description of the wonders of his court. This rendering, therefore, which the Hebrew will well bear, has much probability to recommend it.
Related Commentaries of 1 Kings 10:4
1 Kings 10:4-5
4 And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wisdom, and the house that he had built,
5 And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendanceb of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her.